MP Madzore’s bail hearing postponed as prosecutors ask for more time

By Lance Guma
20 December 2006

State prosecutors made sure the MP for Glen View Paul Madzore will spend his eighth night in custody after telling a scheduled bail hearing in the High Court that they needed more time to respond. According to his wife, Madzore was arrested last Wednesday and moved from Harare Central Police station to Harare Remand prison after being denied bail on Friday by the magistrate’s court. He is facing accusations of engaging in public violence after allegedly forcing people in his constituency to stay home from work to work to protest the economic hardships many Zimbabweans are facing.

Harare lawyer Alec Muchadehama told Newsreel that bail applications are urgent matters that decide the liberty of people in custody and the courts should have treated Madzore’s application urgently. State prosecutors argued that they received the MP’s bail application papers late and needed more time to prepare a response. The lawyer says there is no reasonable cause for the state to insist on keeping Madzore in custody given he is a member of parliament and could not be compared to common criminals who could not be trusted if freed.

Newsreel also spoke to Madzore’s wife who expressed worries that the state might be intent on keeping her husband locked up over the Christmas holidays. She says she does not believe the charges merit the kind of treatment the MP has received so far. The Tsvangirai MDC meanwhile issued a hard-hitting statement demanding the release of Madzore. The party say the charges are unsubstantiated and simply meant to harass their member. They further pointed to the fact that Madzore is being detained in a filthy cell and moving around in leg irons while wearing tattered shorts that reveal his entire backside. The statement also mentions the fact that the MP is being held in a Class D cell alongside hard-core criminals.